There have been multiple instances in Hollywood’s entertainment industry where actors and actresses were left feeling incredibly uncomfortable because of the inappropriate ways they were treated. While not restricted to, this also made its way to the award ceremonies, where unfortunate events like Scarlett Johansson uneasily getting her left br**st groped by an interviewer took place.
Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow. | Credit: Marvel Studios.
Yes, you read it right, for the fearlessly bold Johansson has also been a victim of such inappropriate gestures during those high-tier events. If anything, even the actress herself was left confused when interviewer Isaac Mizrahi, who is actually a gay fashion designer, squeezed her left br**st without her permission while interviewing her on the red carpet during a live TV broadcast!
The Time Isaac Mizrahi Groped Scarlett Johansson on Live TV
Despite being a gay fashion designer, Isaac Mizrahi really pushed some boundaries when it came to interviewing actresses. This included him asking stars among the likes of Kiera Knightley whether they were wearing any underwear; and if yes, then what kind, during the red carpet event for the Golden Globes ceremony.
Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow. | Credit: Marvel Studios.
But things took a turn further downhill when it took it one step further with Scarlett Johansson. This happened during the red carpet event for the 63rd Golden Globes that took place in 2006, where Mizrahi did something really inappropriate: Grope the Marvel actress’ left br**st while interviewing her to check if she was wearing a bra underneath.
As covered by The Hollywood Reporter, Mizrahi originally asked Johansson about it while talking about the red scoop-neck Valentino gown she sported. To this, she had responded with an easy “It’s all built-in. That’s the Valentino way.” However, it seems like Mizrahi wasn’t satisfied with her response, considering how he decided to check it himself.
Scarlett Johansson and Isaac Mizrahi during the interview. | Credit: THR.
Taking things into his own hands, the then-44-year-old gay fashion designer scooped his hand down to feel her left br**st himself to get his answer, saying, “I’m just taking notes for the next time I make a —” But he was cut off midway by the then-21-year-old caught-off-guard Johansson, who didn’t hesitate to say out loud:
What is going on?!
Though the Lucy actress, presumably in an attempt to cancel out the discomfort of whatever just happened during her live TV interview, went on to say, “Absolutely, take all the notes you want,” Mizrahi had already earned himself a controversial spot. If anything, this incident earned him quite a bit of negative media coverage. And he, in return, owned up to his mistake.
Well, somewhat.
Isaac Mizrahi Later Called it “A Weird, Strange Confluence of Mistakes”
Isaac Mizrahi. | Credit: Rhododendrites/CCA-BY-SA-4.0/Wikimedia Commons.
While the media widely deemed this a controversial turn of events for Mizrahi, the fashion designer actually had a slightly different take on the incident. Since the Black Widow actress’ gown had soft ruffles on the straps he literally just wanted to know if she was actually wearing a bra underneath it, explaining there was no lurid intent behind it.
As per what he said during his appearance on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight while promoting his Shopping Channel line Isaac Mizrahi Live!:
I was like, ‘Well, wait a minute, I just wanna…’ [makes reaching motion]. And then she (went) ‘Oh my God!’ and it was like this crazy thing. It was on the cover of, like, this newspaper in India. In fittings, I do that all the time. It’s just a natural response. It’s like a doctor going ‘OK, cough.’
Scarlett Johansson in Jojo Rabbit. | Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Continuing, he went on to explain how it was “natural” for him until he realized that it wasn’t. He said:
That was as natural for me as shaking someone’s hand… and it wasn’t. In retrospect I looked at it and went, ‘Ew, that’s true.’ […] And when it happened I was so scared and I didn’t go, ‘Hey, wait a minute. I was just shaking her hand.’ I didn’t say anything. I was like, ‘OK, I’m not going to say anything. Maybe it’ll go away.’
Even then, Mizrahi wasn’t too sure about it all, considering how he said, “I don’t know. I thought it was a weird, strange confluence of mistakes.” Well, call it whatever you want, but that was indeed a truly inappropriate turn of events to have happened so normally on live TV, irrespective of what the intention may have been.
